What’s the Difference Between an RV Mattress and a Regular Mattress?

Anyone who has ever slept in an RV—especially anyone who has a good bed at home—knows that most RV mattresses aren’t quite up to par with what you’d find in a quality mattress store. They’re just not as comfortable. But why is that?

There are two things that keep you from getting the same night’s sleep in your RV bed as you do at home. The first is weight and the second is size.

Weight is everything when it comes to RV construction. Every car and truck has a gross trailer weight rating, or GTWR, and that dictates everything that you can pull. That number is not just the weight of the structure of the trailer—it’s the weight of the entire thing, including any gear and food you store inside it, and especially including the weight of the mattresses. So if you have a truck with a GTWR of 2800 pounds, and you have a 100 pound mattress, then that means your trailer has to be a hundred pounds lighter. There’s no way around that. The weight of the mattress is the biggest factor in what makes an RV mattress different from your bed at home.

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So, what does an RV manufacturer do to make that mattress weigh less? For starters, they make it out of something less dense. The less material that’s inside a mattress means the mattress is going weigh less. That may take out springs or gel or foam—whatever the RV manufacturer decides to toss—and leaves you with something less than what you’d get at a mattress store.

The second difference between an RV mattress and a regular mattress is that it’s smaller, usually in width. Even though an RV bed says that it’s the same type of mattress as a regular mattress—it may say it’s a queen or a king—it very likely is smaller than queen or king that you’d sleep on at home. Sometimes the RV manufacturer will use a term like “three-quarter queen” which is about what it sounds like: a 48 inch by 75 inch mattress instead of a typical 60” x 80”. But even a “queen” might be a few inches narrower than a queen that you’re used to. Or they may sell a “queen short” which is the same width, but five inches shorter in length. Knowing these terms is something you need to be mindful of when shopping for an RV mattress.

Knowing that you’re going to have to compromise on width in most instances (because the bed itself just isn’t big enough for a regular sized mattress) you can try to get a more comfortable mattress the best ways you can—in density and height. You can trade that light, manufacturer-installed mattress for something denser, something with memory foam, say, or gel top. You can also stack more on top of the mattress—a mattress pad or a comfort-top.

Fortunately, you don’t have to resort to buying a piece of foam rubber or egg-crate foam to layer on top of your lightweight basic mattress. At Dynasty Mattress we sell a variety of RV mattresses that are custom made to fit into the dimensions of an RV and are every bit as comfortable as the mattresses we sell for your home. We sell 14.5 inch CoolBreeze PLUSH GEL Memory Foam Mattresses that can slip easily into the pre-built size of your trailer and give you a blissful, restful night sleep after having driven all day.

RVs are for comfort. Don’t you think that your sleep should be as relaxing as your vacation?

Check out our guide below to help find the perfect mattress for your RV. 

	10” Gel Memory Foam RV Mattress	12” CoolBreeze Gel Memory Foam RV Mattress	14.5” CoolBreeze Plush Gel Memory Foam RV Mattress
Mattress Thickness:	10 Inches	12 Inches	14.5 Inches
Comfort Level:	Medium Firm	Medium Firm	Medium Soft
Layers:	4	4	4
Warranty:	30 Year Limited Warranty	30 Year Limited Warranty	30 Year Limited Warranty
Best Suited For:	All Round General Sleepers	All round General Sleepers	Side Sleepers, Stomach Sleepers

Shop our RV mattresses.